Monday, August 17, 2009

Commercial: Liverpool brand stories 1

Ms Beta and me had a very quick 24 hours in Liverpool this past weekend. Surprising, to me at least, was the number of things that we stumbled across that could be thought of as brand parables; little stories or vignettes which show that approaches to branding can be both playful and effective; as well as some interesting examples of good and better practice. So I'll be sharing some of them over the next few days.

First up: I am, for my sins, on the blue side of the city when it comes to football (don't ask why, it involves the 1984 FA Cup Final, and a stupid level of persistence since). Bearing in mind the shadow that the People's Club lives in, it's great to see when one of the little pebbles David fires at the Red Goliath actually hits home.

This is a great example of that. The new club shop in the city's latest retail development means not only a visible footprint, but also a chance to show that sports brands don't have to subsist on a diet of cliches about teamwork and spirit and courage - that cheek and wit and a bit of lateral thinking and underdog spirit can create cut-through and elevate otherwise mundane communications.

And create sheer joy too, when you can answer the question, 'Where did you get that from?', 'Everton Two Liverpool One.'